Synopsis: The true story of a young man who gave up everything to live off the land in Alaska, only to die a painful death by starvation. Review: Into the Wild was a quick, fast-paced read that left me both satisfied and wanting to know more. Christopher McCandless’s decision to go his own iconoclastic way [...]
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
December 12th, 2009 · 3 Comments
Tags: American Literature
What the Dog Saw by Malcolm Gladwell
October 20th, 2009 · 4 Comments
Synopsis: A collection of essays written by Gladwell and published in the New Yorker. Review: Bite-sized is how I like Malcolm Gladwell, and What the Dog Saw contains some of Gladwell’s most memorable essays. His profile of Ron Popeil, creator of the Showtime Rotisserie, stands as one of the finest pieces of writing I’ve ever [...]
Tags: American Literature
The Murder of King Tut by James Patterson
September 28th, 2009 · No Comments
Synopsis: Subtitled “A Plot to Kill the Child King–A Nonfiction Thriller,” this book weaves together the discovery of King Tut’s tomb with his reign as Pharaoh in order to show that he may have been murdered. Review: In The Murder of King Tut, James Patterson turns history into potboiler, but I was less than thrilled. [...]
Tags: American Literature
The Addict by Michael Stein
March 31st, 2009 · No Comments
Synopsis: One year in the treatment of a Vicodin addict, as told by the internist who treated her with medication. Review: Dr. Michael Stein is an internist specializing in prescribing a drug that blocks the effect of painkillers on a patient. In The Addict, subtitled One Patient, One Doctor, One Year, Stein recounts his journey [...]
Tags: American Literature
The Magician’s Book: A Skeptic’s Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller
January 10th, 2009 · 3 Comments
Synopsis: A literary critic recalls her childhood love affair with CS Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia, and her subsequent disappointment at learning that he was a Christian apologist. Review: I confess that I was hesitant to read The Magician’s Book for reasons that Laura Miller herself would understand. Narnia is mine, I tell you, mine! I [...]
Tags: American Literature
Private Demons: The Life of Shirley Jackson by Judy Oppenheimer
September 14th, 2007 · 5 Comments
Synopsis: A biography of Shirley Jackson, author of the short story “The Lottery,” and one of my favorite authors. Review: I was inspired to read this thanks to an email I got from Chaucerian Girl. She expressed an appreciation for Private Demons, Judy Oppenheimer’s biography of the woman I believe to be one of the [...]
Tags: American Literature



